


Myths of New York

by Poppinpippin



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: 2012, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Fluff, Makeup, TMNT, fights happen in families made up of boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 11:39:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11850807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poppinpippin/pseuds/Poppinpippin
Summary: Being in a family full of rumbustious boys, fights are bound to happen.  Sometimes, you need to take a step back and get away for a bit.  Leonardo travels top-side during day, and finds the answer he's been looking for; can he forgive his brothers for always having to clean up their messes?





	Myths of New York

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all, its me! This is my first TMNT fic!! I've spent a lot of time on this, and would greatly appreciate feedback and support! If you guys can figure out who our mysterious blind man is, I'll give you brownie points!!  
> This fic is more Leo centered, but all the turtles are featured in this fic. PLEASE LEAVE ME A COMMENT IF YOU LIKE THIS!! It will help encourage more fics in the future!  
> Thanks for taking time to read this!!  
> TMNT does not belong to me, it belongs to Nickelodeon  
> Plot belongs to me!!  
> 

It was like any other day in New York City. Crowds of busy people bustled about their way, taxi drivers sped down the main drags, and the constant slamming of car horns was a form of art in itself. Contrary to popular belief, the citizens of New York are always willing to stop their busy schedule to help a struggling tourist. Which leads to our favorite turtles.  
— — — — — — —  
Leo knew he shouldn’t be out of the sewers during the day, unless it was for a good reason, but the liar was feeling a little suffocating. The air was laced with tension from a fight he and his brothers just got in. It started out as something small, but gradually escalated to fists.  
— — — — — — —  
Leo had just wondered in, right as Raph and Donnie started to wrestle over what he could only assume was the remote for the T.V. He knew that Donnie was expecting a “new” science documentary to come out today, and had been looking forward to it for the past few weeks. But Raph’s Wrestle Mania was still on. Rolling his eyes at the two, he debated on whether he should step in or not. He didn’t have too; Mikey did it for him. But not in a way he would approve of.

“Booyakasha!”

Next thing he knew, the youngest of his brothers was being chased by the other two. Shouts of profanity and over all chaos filled the air, as each brother fought for control over the remote.

“Mikey! I need to watch the Particle Fever! They only have this documentary on once every four months!”  
The T.V switched to a monotone voice of a scientist explaining the big-bang theory; ‘As you can see by this diagram, the theory to investigate the origin of all matter and unravel the mysteries of the universe, will be sought out by the re-creation of the conditions formed in the big-bang theory…’  
“Nu-uh, dude, Mr. Bean is on!”  
The T.V switched to Mr. Bean’s theme song; ‘Hello I’m Bean, Mr. Bean. Hello I’m Bean, Mr. Bean…’  
“No way, you always have the T.V, when’s the last time I got to laze around and watch something besides science junk and stupid cartoons?”  
The T.V switched to the sound of electric guitars with an upbeat drum; ‘Look at the form of that undertaker! The wrestlers are not yielding to any of these power moves…’

Back and forth, the T.V switched from in depth science, to Mr. Bean messing with a squirrel, to wrestlers trying to out due one another with cheesy power moves. Each time the T.V switched, the brothers got louder and louder. Somehow the fight led to the trio pinning Mikey to the floor on the side of his shell, the remote held tightly in his fists. Raph was sitting on Donnie, as Donnie held Mikey in a head lock. Mikey was holding Raph back with his legs as he squirmed to be free. Normally things wouldn’t escalate so quickly, but it was a rough week for all of them. The brothers were grinding on each others nerves. It was still a surprise when Mikey was the first to resort to violence. It was clearly provoked, Raph had said something off handed about how Donnie’s show and his show were for more mature people, and it made sense for Mikey to be into his cartoon because he was stupid enough to find it amusing. Any other day, Mikey would let it go, but not today. Leo saw the fury in Mikey’s eyes as his eyes narrowed. Before he could take action to defuse the situation, Mikey lifted his legs, and launched Raph cross the pit with a powerful kick. Raph hit the couch that framed the square shaped pit with a loud huff. Eyes wide, each turtle staring at each other, they paused for a few breathes before Raph’s eyes narrowed in anger. With a battle cry, he threw himself at his brothers. Mikey, finally using Donnie’s shock to free himself, leapt out of the way, just for Raph to crash into Donnie. With an angry growl, Donnie kicked his immediate older brother off of him, and rose to his feet. One thing led to another, and the three young turtles found themselves in a brawl; the remote long forgotten.

Leo knew that their father was trying to meditate after a rather frustrating morning practice with the boys being beyond cooperative. With a worried glance toward the dojo, Leo made his way to his brothers. Normally he could derail their arguments quiet easily, but he was a little unsure how to stop this particular fight. Knowing he had little time before his Sensei would reach his limits, Leo made to grab Mikey.

“Guys, come on, Sensei is trying to meditate. Can’t we just watch something else peacefully without trying to kill one another?”

A flailing hand came and smacked him in the face. Retracting from the fighting turtles, Leo gripped his eye with a pained hiss. Taking a breath to recover, the oldest brother drew his hands into fists as his eyes narrowed. With a huff of frustration, Leo made a swift plan on how to settle this fight quickly. Once he found an opening, he threw his arm out, and snagged Donnie around the waist and yanked his brother out of the fight. Taken off guard, Donnie pinwheeled as his body was tossed to a corner of the couch.  
Leo saw Mikey charging towards Raph. With speed capable of catching a fly, Leo snatched his youngest brother and lifted him in the air. Raph came at Mikey, but Leo held him back with his right leg. Hearing Donnie approaching from behind, he held tight to Mikey with his right arm, and used his other hand to push Donnie back.  
“Guys, come on!” He shouted as he brothers fought against him.  
Mikey made a wild lunge towards Donnie, throwing Leo off balanced, successfully trapping him in the middle of his brawling brothers.  
It became a battle of dodging fists and feet as he tried to calm his brothers. He could feel bruises starting to form across his body and knew he would have to start defending himself better. He never liked to use force against force when it came to his brothers, but he wasn’t seeing a way out of it. With a practiced split kick he sent Raph and Mikey across the room in opposite directions. He than caught Donnie’s fist and pinned him into submission.  
“YAME.”  
Looking up with horror, he met the eyes of his very unhappy Sensei. He released Donnie as if he was lava, and took several steps backwards, his head bowed in shame.“My sons,” His Sensei called. Closing his eyes tight, the leader of the team stood stiff at attention. He felt the presence of his brothers form in a line at attention facing their father.

Splinter looked at his son’s with narrowed eyes. Meeting each turtle’s eyes with disappointment. The only one who wouldn’t make eye contact with him was his oldest son. With a heavy sigh, he began to pace the pit, binding down to pick up the now destroyed remote. On the outside, the leader of the Hamato clan was stern and disappointed. On the inside, he was the same, but also bummed that he wouldn’t be able to watch So You Think You Can Dance.

“Leonardo,” Splinter inquired.  
Leo slowly looked up to his Sensei. He flinched as he felt the bruise on his face stretch uncomfortable. “Sensei,” He greeted carefully.  
Splinter held his gaze regardfully. After a minute of tense gazing, Leo shifted from foot to foot.  
“Leonardo, you know as leader, it is of key importance that you hold the balance of peace between your team mates. Should one member slip up, it is the duty of the others to pick their brother up. It is not through force that we lift each other up, but through patience and the use of our words.”  
Leo wanted to look down in embarrassment. His father was referring to the way he handled the situation.  
“Hia Sensei,” Leo began carefully, “It was my fault things got out of hand.”  
Out of the corner of his eyes he saw his brothers tense in disbelief.  
“I could have handled the situation better. Had I not provoked violence and used my words instead, the situation would have defused without the need for fists.”  
His Sensei eyed the blue-banded turtle thoughtfully.  
“Thats not true, Sensei!” Mikey spoke up at once. Leo sent a glare to the youngest that had the turtle pausing. They held each others eye before Mikey looked down in shame.  
Leo turned to their father, “I accept full responsibility for my actions, Sensei.”  
Splinter stroked his beard in thought, than nodded in agreement.  
“Very well. There will be an extra hour of evening training for you tonight.” Turning to the younger turtles, Sensei continued on, “The rest of you will have extra back-flips tonight as punishment for fighting. Now until then, I suggest you and your brothers clean up this mess, or you will all have an extra hour.” With those words, Splinter made his way to their dojo. Once he was out of ear shot, Leo’s brothers turned on him.  
“Dude!” Raph shouted in anger. “What the shell, bro?” He exclaimed with a shove. Leo stumbled back a bit, but met Raph’s fiery gaze with a cold glare of his own.  
“Well someone has to clean up the messes you three keep making!” He said with as much ice as he could.  
“Thats not what he meant, dude,” Mikey said with an exaggerated groan. Leo glanced at his brother in confusion.  
“Leo,” Donnie rested a hand on his shoulder, “You didn’t have anything to do with this fight.”  
“Well aware of that, Donnie,” Leo said as he shrugged off his hand. With a tired sigh, Leo winced at his bruised body. Lifting a hand to his face, he could feel the beginning of the swelling starting to show. His whole body felt sore and ache, and he could only imagine his brothers felt the same. Glancing at his brothers he took in their appearances. Donnie had several bruises across his arms and one on his right shoulder. Mikey had a bruise in the shape of hand print around his wrist (likely from someone holding his wrist as he yanked out of their grasp), a few on his arms and one nasty bruise on his thigh. Raph had a split lip and a bruise forming around his right cheek. His arms were bruised as well. Leo sighed and steered his brother’s to the kitchen. “Come on, shell-heads. Lets get some ice on those bruises.”  
Sitting them all down, Leo made his way to the freezer. Opening the door, he was greeted by ice cream kitty who purred loudly at his arrival. With a soft smile, he stroked her head and pulled out several ice packs. After shutting the door with a soft click, Leo yanking a few tea towels from a drawer and tossed them to his sulking and guilty looking brothers. After handing each an ice pack, he excused himself from the kitchen. Leo was still feeling pimped up from the fight and decided he should meditate away his frustrations. He could hear his brothers quiet hisses as they iced their bruises, but he kept walking forward. He would normally head to the dojo, but he wasn’t ready to face the embarrassment of facing his father after basically claiming to have started a fight. He knew his father wasn’t angry, just disappointed. Maybe a little amused, but not enough to let it fly. With a shake of his head, Leo headed to his room.  
Setting up his mat Leo folded himself in a meditating position and began to relax his body. But after several attempts to calm his mind, he found that he was too wound up to get his mind off his frustration.  
Beyond frustrated, Leo decided he needed fresh air.  
— — — — — — —  
Inhaling the air of New York, Leo found peace in the noisy city. Sure the air had tangs of cigarette smoke, but it was better than the random moments in the lair when he could clearly smell the sewer they resided in. Closing his eyes, Leo settled himself down on the fire escape of the random building he found himself on. He knew where he was, he was in Brooklyn. On the corner of Flatbush Ave. and Lefferts Ave. on top of a yoga building. He was a little ways from home, but he knew exactly where the next manhole was and all the short cuts to get back to the lair in record time.  
With a quiet sigh, Leo leaned his shell on the back of the fire escape. Taking in the sounds and smells. He felt himself relax as he listened to the people of New York. Someone was watching T.V a few blocks down. He could hear the sound of laughter down the street as children played a game of capture the flag while their parent was in the yoga building. He felt the slight tremble of the subway a few blocks away on Ocean Ave. and Lincoln. He heard the quiet clicking of shoes on the street. He inhaled deeply. There was a hot dog stand around the corner. He could smell the sweat from the yoga building. The smell of cigarette buds and perfume. He found New York to be rather poetic. He tired to explain this once to his brothers, but they never fully grasped the beauty of a busy city.  
Opening his eyes, Leo questioned what broke his train of thought. Looking down, he saw a young man holding a white cane, trying to flag down someone to help him. Glancing around, Leo scanned the area for help. No one was around surprisingly. His eyes shifted to the man. He wore a suit, and his hair was nicely combed to the side. He looked like any other man, except for his dark round glasses covering his eyes. With a tilt of his head Leo looked more clearly at the man, and realized he was blind. Feeling a pang of guilt that nobody was around to help him, Leo carefully hoisted himself up and made his way down the latter. Stopping at the last set of stairs above the ground, Leo called out to the man.  
“Hey, hey Mister,” Leo called.  
The blind man tilted his head up, searching through his blind eyes for a face he would never see.  
Knowing he had the man’s attention, Leo crouched down, keeping a constant eye around the area for someone that could spot him.  
“Are you lost?” He asked carefully.  
The blind man nodded, “I am.” He stated as he shifted from foot to foot. Leo furrowed his brow and glanced around. Sighing he leapt down to stand beside the blind man.  
“Maybe I can help you,” Leo said with a kind voice.  
The blind man gave a lipped smile, “That would be very kind of you. I know you New Yorkers are always busy and such. It would be appreciated if you could help me.”  
With a small smirk, Leo laughed quietly at the myth of New Yorkers being to busy to help a stranger out.  
“On the contrary,” Leo began, “We New Yorkers are always willing to help a stranger out, as long as you stay out of the way.” He said with a laugh.  
The blind man laughed as well.  
Leo smiled, it was nice to hear someone laugh other than his brothers and friends.  
“Where are you trying to go?” Leo inquired.  
“Well, I’ve seemed to become a little turned around,” The blind man stated. “I’m looking for the nearest subway, could you point me in the right way?”  
“Of course,” Leo turned south, “You’re heading in the right direction, just keep following this road till the next light, turn right and cross the street. From there, keep going straight and on your right, you’ll find the subway.” Leo said as he gestured with his hands.  
The man raised a brow with a confused look, “Is everything in New York just around the corner?”  
Leo couldn’t hold back his laugh, “No,” his voice shook with laughter. “No, only in the movies.”  
With a nod, the man smiled good naturally. “Are the subways free?” The man asked. Leo shook his head, “No, you’ll need a Metro Card. You can buy one there, they take credit or cash.”  
“Okay,” The man said with a grin. He glanced around, as if debating his next question.  
“I didn’t think I’d actually meet a native New Yorker on my visit here,” The man began. Leo tilted his head as he listen. “May I ask you a few questions?” The man asked with a sheepish smile.  
Leo glanced around, still nobody around. He looked to the sky, the sun was just reaching mid afternoon. He had time.  
“Sure,” Leo said with a grin. It was really nice talking to someone new, and he would cherish it as long as he could.  
“Thanks…” the man said pausing.  
Realizing what he wanted Leo introduced himself.  
The man smiled, “Matt.” He introduced politely. “Is there a place we can sit for a minute, Leo?”  
Coincidentally, they were in front of a bench, and Leo told him so.  
Sitting down, the man rested his cane on his lap.  
“So Leo,” Matt began, “I was wondering if I could ask you a bit about New York?”  
Leo agreed.  
“Is it true that everyone in New York has a clean office with an amazing view?”  
Leo snorted, “Forget an office,” Leo began, “If your lucky you’ll get a cubicle near a window in New York these days. Even then, your more likely to share it with ten other people” He was thinking back to the Kraang building they broke into. The place was packed tight was cubicles, he could only assume it was the same with every office building.  
“What about the Subways, does everyone get a seat on the subway?” Matts unseeing eyes turned towards where he would guess Leo was sitting.  
“Well,” Leo thought for a moment. He and his brothers had been in busy subways before, not on the platform, but in the rafters. It wasn’t very often, but with the times he had, he could get a clear view of all the people that piled into the subway. There was no way EVERYONE got a seat. “No,” Leo smiled. “Rush hour is the worst, people are all trying to pack in, so it can become a tight squeeze. But I have seen people move to make room for people at a disadvantage.” Leo said carefully.  
Matt grinned at the thoughtfulness of the ‘young man.’  
“Is it crowded everywhere in New York?”  
“Yes, it can be very crowded depending on where you go. If you’re going to Manhattan, then you should definitely expect it to be shoulder to shoulder crowded. But in suburb areas, like Queens, it’s a lot more organized.” Leo grinned at the memory of April being five hours late to practice. She had been swept away in a crowd of tourists in Manhattan. Ever since that day, she had been avoiding Manhattan like it was the plague.  
“I heard from a fellow tourist, that everywhere in New York, there is a view of a land mark, is that true?”  
Leo smiled softly, “No, you can go a whole day and never see a landmark.” New Yorkers don’t always look up anyways, he added as a side note.  
“Are people always trying to pick a fight?”  
Leo paused at the question. Sure, Raph did, and after today he would be willing to say yes. But in all truth, Leo knew that the answer was more complicated than yes or no.  
“A New Yorker’s reputation for being rude is completely false,” Leo said with a grin, “Sure, there are some who would rather not deal with stumbling tourists, but the idea that we are all cruel is simply not true.” He paused. “I find, that New Yorkers are quick to pick their brothers up. Sure, sometimes we accidentally resort to violence…but it is not through force that we lift each other up, but through patience and the use of our words…We are usually very apologetic,” He knew his brothers were sorry for fighting, and he was sorry too, “Love giving directions,” He thought of how patience his Sensei is, always patient to point him and his brothers in the right way. “…And don’t mind holding doors…as long as you stay out of the way,” Leo said with a laugh. Matt laughed at the reference to their previous conversation.  
“Is it true that in an event of disaster, everyone would try to drive out of New York?”  
Leo was about to answer when Matt’s watch began to beep. Pressing a small button on the watch, the watch read the time to him, and with a sad sigh, Matt told Leo he had to leave. Leo was disappointed to see his new friend leave, but understood completely. Leo told Matt to travel safely and to enjoy New York for its beauty rather than its flaws. Matt couldn’t agree more, as he bid his friend farewell.  
With a satisfied smile, Leo leapt to the fire escape and started to make his way home.  
— — — — — — —  
The sound of the turnstile sounded his return to the lair. To his surprise, his brothers were all lounging in the pit around the T.V. However, the T.V was blank, even though the remote was fixed. He glanced at their manual clock on the wall closest to him. He was gone for a few hours, were they all waiting for him?  
“Guys?” He greeted cautiously. Three sets of eyes snapped up to meet his. Raising a brow in confusion, Leo approached his sulking brothers. Climbing over the pit, he sat a few feet away from Donnie.  
It was quiet as he sat waiting for his brothers to say something. Eventually, Donnie rose and made his way to the kitchen. Leo watch him retreat before turning his eyes back to his remaining brothers. Mikey was absent mindedly playing with his hands, while Raph was glaring at the floor. Leo’s face twisted into concern. Where they still mad at him for taking the blame for them?  
He was just about to ask when Donnie returned with a fresh ice pack and a tea towel. Donnie offered both to Leo with a small, sad grin.  
Only now did Leo remember how sore and ache he was feeling. Taking the ice pack with a thankful smile, Leo pressed the pack to his aching face. He let out a hiss as the coldness stung his swollen eye. Holding it there gently, Leo concentrated on the relief rather then the pain.  
A few minutes passed in silence. Leo wasn’t paying mind to it, he rather enjoyed the silence when he could get it. Of course it wouldn’t last.  
“Leo?” Mikey called. Leo turned his head to face his youngest brother.“Yeah?”  
“You’re not mad at us, are you?” Mikey asked quietly.  
Leo was taken back by the question. Was he mad?  
He thought about his talk with Matt, about how he explained the “myths of New Yorkers.” How even with the coldest of New Yorkers, citizens stuck together. Just as he and his brothers did.  
He let a smile grace his face.  
“No, Mikey, I’m not mad.”  
“But you left us.” Mikey said with a sad face.  
Leo paused. He pulled the ice pack away from his face as he met each of his brothers faces.  
“I heard a myth today, that in an event of disaster, everyone would try to drive out of New York.” Leo began. “New York has been through a lot of disasters, just like our family. You guys remember Hurricane Sandy?” He asked his confused brothers. Reluctantly they gave a nod.  
“I just did what we New Yorkers do in a state of disaster,”  
His brothers gave him a knowing look with a smile.  
“I walked away, but came back.”


End file.
